by Maya Banks
Reggie stirred against him, sliding sensuously over his body, stretching like a cat and almost purring like one.
Heaven help him. His dick was already stabbing her in the gut, twitching like it was on fire. She rubbed her cheek against his chest, sighed in contentment and then pulled her head up to look at him with sleepy, contented eyes.
They shone a brilliant blue. There was light and sparkle. She looked happy.
When he tried to breathe out, his chest caught and squeezed uncomfortably. He loved Reggie. He didn’t mind admitting that. What he didn’t love was how damn weak he felt if she so much as looked at him.
He loosened and came apart at the seams. Like a damn puppet cut from his strings. He had no control around her, and he couldn’t afford to lose it. Not with her. Never with her.
“What are you thinking?” she asked softly.
He ran a finger from her temple around the curve of her jaw and then to her lips.
“That I’d like to wake up this way every morning.”
She smiled. “It does have its appeal, doesn’t it?”
She moved her hands down, reaching between them. Her fingers closed around his dick, and he damn near blew a gasket.
Need boiled through his gut. Each fingertip pressed against his erection felt branded on. Ah, fuck it. This wasn’t going to work.
He rolled suddenly, his arms around Reggie so he didn’t jar her too bad. His cock came to rest between her legs, pressing against the wispy hairs of her pussy.
Instead of spreading her wide and sinking deep into her velvet warmth, he kissed her forehead and pushed himself off her. He didn’t look back as he let his feet fall to the floor with a thump. He was afraid he’d find something in her eyes he couldn’t resist.
“Sawyer?”
Her voice sounded small and confused. Hell. So much for not looking at her.
He braced himself, making sure he had on his best lazy smile when he turned back to her.
“Hutch popped in a second ago. Said breakfast was about ready. You hungry?”
She frowned slightly. “Sure. I just need to jump in the shower.”
He rose, turning so his very obvious hard-on wouldn’t be in plain view. She had him so twisted in knots that his dick was reaching for his belly button.
“You take the one in here. I’ll grab a shower in the other bathroom,” he said, right before he bolted for the door like a man with a pit bull on his ass.
Regina sighed and remained lying on the bed, her gaze fixed on the ceiling. What the hell was running through that man’s head was anyone’s guess.
He wanted her. There was no doubting that. He’d been the least tactful of the three guys when it came to letting his wants and desires be known. While Cam and Hutch had been somewhat content to back off and give her room, Sawyer had been more in her face, refusing to let her put a barrier between them.
Which was pretty damn ironic when you considered the cement roadblock he’d just constructed.
Twice now she’d made love with all three guys, and twice Sawyer hadn’t done more than come in her mouth. Not that she minded, but she wanted him deep inside her body. She wanted her legs wrapped around those muscled thighs as he pumped and strained against her.
A ragged moan escaped as her clit started throbbing in response.
She sighed and rolled over, burying her face in her pillow. This wasn’t something that could be addressed between the four of them. This was more personal to her and Sawyer. How the hell did he expect this to work when he spent his time avoiding her during sex?
The tension between them was tangible. She wanted him, and he wanted her. She was no dummy. But she had to crack through whatever moronic thoughts he had in regard to making love to her.
Yeah, he was rough around the edges. He’d always approached most things like a bull in a china closet, but damn it, she knew that. Hell, everyone knew that.
There were only a few possibilities for his reluctance. One, he wasn’t really into performing in front of two other guys. He’d seemed markedly squeamish about coming into contact with Cam when she’d asked him to touch her. And really, she couldn’t blame him for that. It still made her nervous to be making love with more than one guy at a time.
Two, he didn’t want her.
Three, he was afraid of hurting her or scaring her.
Since two was obviously not the answer, it had to be one or three. She was betting it was a combination of the two.
She didn’t know what to do about one, but she could damn sure do something about three.
With a determined twist to her lips, she rolled out of bed and headed for the shower. Sawyer and Hutch were heading to the job site early, and Cam had phone calls and plans to go over. She had her own agenda, which included checking in with the chief and also with Michael to see if he’d been out to the house to get the security measures she’d asked for in place. She needed it done before they headed back.
The house was quiet. She’d talked to Michael, and his guys were finishing up at the house as they spoke. She’d missed the chief when she called the station but had talked to Jeremy. They wanted Cam, Sawyer and Hutch to come in for questioning as soon as possible, and she didn’t relish passing along that information. They’d want to know why, and whether she told them or the chief told them, they’d find out that the case was a lot more complicated.
She curled up on the couch and closed her eyes. A dull ache had inserted itself in her temples.
Once they were questioned, it wouldn’t really matter if they knew about the security measures she’d had Michael install at the house. It would probably be easier if she just told them herself rather than let it all come out later.
What she worried about was Hutch’s reaction if the finger pointed at some personal vendetta against him. He’d want to take off and put as much distance between him and the others as possible. It was likely what she would do. Hell, she’d tried it herself when it looked as though she might be the focal point of the threat.
She couldn’t, wouldn’t, let him do that. They had to stay together. Hutch would make himself too easy a target by going off alone. And she wouldn’t be able to protect him.
The quiet hum of the ceiling fan lulled her to sleep. The next thing she was aware of was the murmur of voices.
“She’s cute all curled up on the couch,” Hutch said.
Sawyer made a rude noise. “She’ll kick your ass for calling her cute. But yeah, she is kinda sweet looking. You know, when she’s asleep and doesn’t have her knee in your balls.”
She grinned and cracked open one eye. “You two are so full of shit.”
Hutch ambled over and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “’Lo, sleepyhead.”
“What time is it?” she asked. A giant yawn nearly cracked her jaw, and she rubbed it as she sat up.
Sawyer glanced at his watch. “Nearly five.”
Her eyes popped open wider. “Five in the afternoon? Holy shit, I slept the entire day.”
Hutch opened his mouth, but she stilled him with a glare. “Don’t say it. Just shut up.”
He turned his palms up. “What?”
“He wouldn’t dare lecture you about how you need the rest and how it’s about time you took it,” Sawyer said. Then he grinned. “But I would.”
She tossed a small pillow at him, which he caught and lobbed back at her head.
“You guys get everything straightened out at work?”
“Yeah,” Hutch said. “Where’s Cam anyway? He still holed up in his office?”
She nodded. “Haven’t heard a peep out of him all day.”
She stretched but didn’t get up from the couch. Truth was, she was too damn comfortable to think about moving. But she was hungry. She glanced hopefully up at Hutch.
“Oh, I know that look,” he said with a roll of his eyes.
“What?” she asked, mimicking his innocent question.
“You either want food or sugar. I’m guessing, since Cam isn’t here giving you th
e evil eye, that you’ll want sugar.”
“Mmmm fudge. Or maybe cheesecake.” She gave him her best cajoling smile. “Both?”
Sawyer laughed and walked over to plop onto the couch at her feet.
“How about you get one while I fix some supper?” Hutch said. “I’m making stir-fry.”
“Mmmm.” She sighed again. Her stomach growled.
Sawyer frowned. “Didn’t Cam feed you anything for lunch?”
“You say that like I’m cattle that has to be fed and watered regularly,” she said sourly. “I was asleep all day. If he’d woken me up, you’d be pissed because I need so much rest, remember?”
“You also need to eat.” He eyed her speculatively. “You’ve lost weight, and you didn’t have any to spare to begin with.”
“Well, I’ll be sure to keep my skinny parts from your oh-so-buff ones,” she said.
Sawyer blinked in surprise, and she could have killed herself for sounding like a petulant whiney ass moron. God. Was this what sex and emotion turned you into?
Yeah, it bugged her that he was keeping all that lust and desire packaged up, but she wasn’t taking it personally. Or was she?
Jesus. She needed to get a grip.
“Reggie . . . ,” he began.
Ugh, so not a conversation she was going to have right now. Not with Hutch looking on like he was missing several parts to a puzzle.
She swung her feet over the couch and pushed herself upright. “I’m thirsty,” she announced and headed for the kitchen.
The phone rang, but she ignored it. Wasn’t her phone. Plus Cam would get it.
She dug around in the fridge and latched onto a beer. Been a while since she’d enjoyed one. But then she frowned and put it back. Hutch wasn’t comfortable around alcohol. Then she gritted her teeth and snatched it back up.
It wasn’t as though she was going to tie one on, for God’s sake.
She closed the fridge, popped the cap on the bottle and took a long drink. Cam walked into the kitchen a second later, phone in hand.
“It’s for you,” he said, holding it out to her. “Your chief.”
“Oh, thanks.”
She put her beer down, wiped her hands on her jeans and took the phone.
“Regina, we’ve made an arrest,” the chief said with no preamble.
Her pulse surged. “You have? What happened? Who made the arrest? Did you get a confession?”
“Slow down,” the chief said. “One thing at a time. No one made an arrest. Son of a bitch turned himself in. Damnedest thing. Just walked into the station and told Greta that he was who we were looking for. Damn near gave her a heart attack. I wanted to call you so you didn’t worry about having the guys in for questioning tomorrow. Looks like we won’t need them. At least, not yet.”
“Is the evidence solid?” She wanted to ask what the asshole’s beef was with her or Hutch, and which one of them he’d been after, but she didn’t want to bring it up while the guys were all standing around, hanging on her every word.
“Well, nothing’s for certain, but it looks pretty airtight. We got a confession for Misty Thompson’s murder. He’s been tight-lipped about everything else, but we’ll lean on him some more.”
“That’s great,” she murmured. “I can come back to work then, right?”
“I didn’t say that,” he said dryly. “But yes, when you’re feeling better, you can come off leave.”
“Sir, I feel just fine.”
He made a sound of impatience. “Give it a few more days, Fallon. Let’s see how this case shakes out. If everything works out, you can come in on Monday and we’ll discuss it.”
“That’s great. I’ll see you on Monday then.”
She hung up with a surge of elation. When she glanced up, she saw Cam, Sawyer and Hutch all eyeing her, their postures stiff.
“They made an arrest,” she said.
“And?” Cam asked cautiously.
“And what? It means we can breathe easier now.” She shrugged even as their scrutiny made her uneasy.
“Don’t you think going back Monday is pushing things a bit?” Hutch said.
“I feel fine. Besides, the chief wants me to take it easy, go in on Monday and we’ll assess things then. I need to get back anyway. They’ll have cleared out the scene at my house, hopefully, and maybe I can start getting cleaned up.”
Sawyer’s jaw ticked ominously. He bristled and swelled up, his cheeks reddening.
“Tell me you didn’t expect that I’d quit my job or hide out forever,” she said quietly.
Sawyer stepped forward, his right eye ticking. His lips were pressed so tight together that he looked ready to explode.
“You tell me, Reggie. Are you blowing us off now that you don’t need us anymore? Is it going back to the way it’s been for the last year where we don’t ever see you and you spend all your time hiding behind your job?”
Her mouth fell open. “What’s with you? I thought you’d be happy that the freak who’s been trying to kill me is behind bars and that maybe we can get on with our lives without worrying that one of us will be blown to hell the next time we get in our car.”
Cam moved quickly, ever the calm one, but even he had a hint of anger, of frustration set in the lines around his mouth. He put his hands on her shoulders, and she could feel the tension in his fingers.
“We’re very happy that you’re safe now, Reggie. You should know that, if nothing else. I think what Sawyer was trying so delicately to ascertain was whether or not you’re going to stay with us.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I think that depends on what you’re expecting from me. It’s not a matter of me blowing you off now that I no longer need you. I’ll point out that I didn’t call you. I didn’t ask you to swoop in and play the protector. You did that on your own. So don’t make this about me asking for something and then shoving you away when I don’t need what I asked for anymore.”
Hutch swore rather crudely, and Sawyer turned and stalked away.
Cam released her arm. “What have we asked you for, Reggie? What have we ever asked you for other than to be with us, to stop running from us?”
“I won’t quit my job,” she said stubbornly. “Not even for you.”
Cam relaxed then dragged a hand through his hair. “No one’s asked you to quit, love. You’re jumping the gun, don’t you think?”
She shifted uncomfortably.
“We were focusing on the part where you said you wanted to get back to your house, get back to your job. Now, to us that sounds a lot like you don’t need us or want to be with us now that there’s no reason to be.”
“I—I said I would stay.”
“Yes, but for how long?” Hutch spoke up. He moved toward her for the first time, his green eyes sparking like firecrackers.
Shit. She hadn’t expected things to be resolved this quickly. She’d wanted time with them to figure out if this was something that would ever work. Now she was faced with a decision she wasn’t sure she was ready to make.
“I don’t know,” she said in frustration. “It’s not like you made it sound. I only meant that it was okay for me to go back and pick up the pieces. My house is trashed. I don’t have a car. I’m out of a job temporarily. My entire life is falling apart around me, so you’ll have to forgive me if I sounded a little eager to get all that back on track. It wasn’t personal. I know I made it look like it was all too easy for me to have a one-night stand then go on my merry way, but I’m not that callous. I wouldn’t just leave and pretend nothing has happened. Not this time.”
She balled up her fingers into fists then shoved her way past both Cam and Hutch.
“Reggie, baby, wait,” Hutch called.
She ignored him and kept walking. She heard Cam call him back. Yeah, he’d see the wisdom in giving her space right now before she went postal. It was another way in which she and Sawyer were so much alike. Calm and centered they weren’t.
She flung open the door to the patio and stepped outside then s
lammed it shut behind her.